Century senior Gilberto Arreola Lopez dribbles up the sideline against The Dalles Wahtonka on Thursday. (Andrew Nemec | The Oregonian)

It wasn't pretty, but it didn't have to be.

Century struggled to connect its passes in the first half, but made up for it with three second-half goals in a 4-0 drubbing of The Dalles Wahtonka on Thursday at 53rd Avenue Community Park.

Early in the contest, the Jaguars realized they were not only the much larger team, but also had a significant skill advantage. Those two factors led to a sloppy attack, as Century (3-1) tried to score quickly in one-on-one battles, rather than playing a team game.

"We couldn't string together two passes when we wanted to. It was poor quality,” Century coach Steve Corey said. “We forced passes and tried to do too much one v. one. They were forcing things and not being patient enough."

That changed in the 28th minute when a handball by The Dalles Wahtonka (1-3-3) led to a penalty kick.

Senior captain Gilberto Arreola Lopez stepped up and easily tucked the ball into the back of the net to make it 1-0.

Century nearly added to its lead with just seconds left in the first half when senior midfielder Crystyan Lorenzo’s header off a corner kick sailed over the crossbar. Lorenzo was unmarked on the near post and missed the shot by inches.

Turns out, the Jaguars didn't need it.

Looking like a completely different team in the second half, Century collected scores from sophomore Carlos Pliego Zavala, junior Omar Alcazar Polvos and freshman Eric Guzman.

Guzman is one of four freshmen, along with midfielder William Perez Rodriguez and defenders Christian Acosta and Josue Delorenza, that play significant minutes for the Jags, which has been a huge boost for the program’s depth.

“It’s absolutely great, because all four of them can play,” Corey said. “Sometimes they start and sometimes they don’t, but that’s actually first-class. Last year, we had one. This year, we have four and they can all play right now.”

Corey was also pleased that his squad was able to register a clean sheet.

"It was good for them. We've got a pretty strong defense,” he said. “We've got a couple of freshmen, a senior and a junior, and they are all solid and play the position very well.”

For a program that has experienced its share of ups and downs, the 3-1 start is a sign of dramatic improvement.

“We got lucky with four good freshmen and we’ve got an attitude change with the family of players that they now understand there is a standard and we have to meet that standard,” Corey said.